Here's chapter 4!


"I can remember everything. You made me forget." I choke as Jack rubs my back. "What was that thing. That thing that used to be my teacher!" My face brims with tears. "What did it want from me! I never did anything!"

"I don't know Ella. But I'm not going to let her get you!" My reflection is blurred in his eyes. "I'll bring you back to the hub and Owen can check that thing out. You're also going to need a new teacher." This causes me to giggle.

I get up and Jack, the creature, and I step onto the pavement and descend into the hub. The immense room swallows me whole, I become a little speck in this underground universe. The flashing of computer screens and clicking of buttons replaces my fear with wonder. The rusting metal and cracked glass seems to be a perfect accessory to this dramatic entrance.

"Well I thought we got rid of you!" Owen rushes over to greet me. "Whoa! what the hell is that thing!" He pokes the creature with a pair of tongs from his lab coat.

"That thing used to be my teacher!" Owen's expression suddenly changes from Disgust to shock.

"Well that's not how I remember school." Gwen chimes in as she walks into the hub.

"Better get your teacher to the lab."


After hours of poking, picking, ripping, and slicing, Owen still knew hardly anything about Mrs Dawson.

"What I can make out is that this started by a parasite crawling into the nose and through to the brain. The alien slowly attacked the brain and took over the host's body little by little. They are a close race; when you see one there should be more near. Maybe the reason she sniffed you was because she smelled an alien on you? We should give you a c.a.t. scan." Owen puts away his tools and washes the blood off his hands.

"But I don't want my brain scanned!" I whine incessantly.

"Don't worry, this is a new kind of technology. I just press this button and it shows me everything in your noggin'." He presses the button and an image of my brain appears on the screen. "No parasite there. Maybe you know someone with a parasite? I'll run brain scans with Gwen, Tosh, Ianto and Jack." Owen sticks the alien in a freezer chamber. "Well now down to business: 1. That's a big bruise on your face. 2. You beat the retcon huh?"

"To answer your questions: yes that is a big bruise. And what's retcon?" Jack jumps in to answer this one.

"Retcon is the drug we give to people who find out of torchwood by accident. Some people are clever enough to trick the drug. Like you!" His face expression turns to something more sad. "How did you get that bruise?"

"When the creature attacked me." I can tell that they don't buy my lie.

"Ella, do you want to come see the morgue?" Jack seems anxious to get me out of the room.

"Sounds a bit morbid, but, sure I'll come." I follow him down a flight of stairs and a few hallways. We enter a room with drawers the size of bodies all over the walls. "Wow this is so cool!" I open one of the coffins. It's empty.

"Yeah, we keep a lot of aliens there." He is silent for a few moments and puts his hand on mine. "Ella, this bruise is older then an hour ago. You've had it for at least 4 hours. Is everything alright?" Jack grabs my arm looking distressed. "You can tell us anything you know that right?"

"Yeah I know. Don't worry. I actually got it during ballet. I didn't want to say ballet at first because I thought you would all laugh at me. I fell while trying to do a fondue. Don't worry I'm perfectly fine!" That was the best lie I ever told. They seem to except it!

"Alright, well Mrs Twinkle toes, you'd better get home before your parents go mad!." Jack starts laughing. "I'll walk you home."


Jack and I walk through Cardiff. Stores are dark and only the lonely walk the streets.

"So are you going to retcon me again?" Jack's gaze stays straight ahead.

"No, don't worry. We need to find this parasite though. Has any of your friends been acting weird lately?" Jack continues to walk ahead of me at a faster pace.

"No. But can you slow down!" I grab him and he stops. "Why are you in such a hurry!"

"I need to get you home before your mom completely freaks out, and I'm scared for you. You're just a 15 year old girl. You should not be dealing with this. You should be watching tv, eating chips, and going shopping with snobby rich girls." He pauses. "When all of this is done I want you to turn away from us and never look back. Because if you grow up in torchwood you will always be targeted with the truth. You will hate this world for the lies it gave you. But right now, you, an innocent teen, you should turn around and go live a nice peaceful life." We approach my house. "Come to the hub after school and we'll look more into this parasite thing."

"Jack, I never lived a normal life. And I never will. But thanks for trying to help." I smile and my breath freezes. "See you tomorrow captain Jack Harkness!" I run through the door of my house.


"Hey Ella! How was school?" Marley sits at the kitchen table doing homework.

"It was fun. Is mom home?" Marley's smile drops to a frown.

"No, she left a few hours ago and hasn't come back." She starts drawing harts and circles on her paper to avoid my gaze.

"Well it's late. Let's go to bed." I tickle her until she screams. We walk up the stairs together and enter our room. I lay her down and strap her harnesses on. "I'm sure mom will be home in the morning. Now go to sleep. Remember that story that mom used to tell us? That beneath the streets there were monsters that would come eat us if we didn't fall asleep right away?" Marley nods giggling. "Well they'll come if you don't go to sleep now!" I kiss her on the head and she drifts into sleep.

I cannot sleep though. My mind is racing at a thousand miles per hour. All I can think of is everything that happened today. I never want to turn away from torchwood; but, yet, I wish I'd never met them. I wish I could just erase the past day and live it over. I wish I could rewrite my whole existence. I wish I wasn't born in Portugal. I wish my mom hadn't decided to come to Cardiff and endanger all of our lives. I wish my sister was healthy. I wish I could just go back into the womb and live a whole new life tomorrow. But no. I can never erase these terrible things. I let these thoughts slowly rock me into oblivion.